Creating posters, cards and other neat things with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements

There are really only a few basic concepts to understand. Then youll be pumping out posters faster thanwell, something that pumps things out fast. Preliminaries 1) If scanning, scan your images so that they will be of sufficient size for your poster. You can always down-size images if needed. 2) If your images are from a digital camera, resize to your needs. 3) Make sure all images are of the same resolution (240 dpi for inkjet) 4) Do everything youd typically do to an image: Levels, color corrections, curves, sharpening, etc. Be sure to flatten any layers. 5) Decide on the size of individual images in your poster and resize as needed. Save using the Save As command. Once you have your selected images ready 1) Create a new document at your final poster size (e.g. 12x18 @ 240 dpi). Go to File>New to do this. Make sure this document is the same resolution as your images. Set Mode to RGB Color and Background Contents to White. 2) With your selected images open, use the MOVE TOOL to move them into the new document. (Click and drag the image) With each moved image, a new layer is created. 3) To make alignment easier, use the guides (Photoshop only). View>New Guide. You can also grab and drag guides. Heres how: Make sure youre using the Rulers (View>Ruler) and move the cursor into the ruler area. The cursor will change to an arrow. Click and drag into your image. This will place a guide wherever you want it. For more info, search for Guides in the Photoshop Help file. 4) Place text using the text tool. Each time you place new text, a new layer is created. This makes it easy to edit and move your text later. Choose fonts and sizes to your liking. 5) Add drop shadow or other layer styles as you see fit. HINT: to achieve a consistent appearance in your drop shadows, adjust the drop shadow on only one text layer to your satisfaction. Now go to Layers>Layer Style>Copy Layer Style. You can then paste the layer style into any of your other

layers using the same menu (Layers>Layer Style>Paste Layer Style). If you link all the layers that you wish to apply the style to, you can choose the Paste Layer Style to Linked option. This applies the style to all linked layers. Add a background image if you wish 1) The background image must be the same size and resolution as the poster. (If your poster is 12x18 @ 240 dpi, so must be the background.) 2) You can use a complete image or part of an image. Just part of an image works quite well. 3) Use the Crop Tool to crop out part of an image to use as a background 4) In the Options Bar for the Crop Tool, set image size and resolution. 5) Crop the area you need. 6) Using the Move Tool, drag the background image to your poster. This will create a new layer (you can rename it Background Image if youd like). By holding down the SHIFT KEY while moving, the background will align perfectly. 7) Move the Background Image layer towards the bottom of the layer stack and place it above the white background layer. (Click and drag the layer in the Layers Palette) 8) Fade back the background by adjusting the Opacity of Background Image layer to your liking. 9) If you dont like the background youve chosen, go back to the image you cropped from and choose another section. (If you havent already closed the image, youll need to step back in History to the point before you cropped) 10) Try several backgrounds. Since theyll all be in separate layers, you can view several options. Dont be worried that youre cropping a small part of an image and upsizing it to your final poster size. Since youre fading it back anyway, background image quality is not a concern.

Some options and suggestions Place a thin black line around each of the images in your poster to help set them off.

Go to Select>Select All before moving images (or use the Marquee Tool to select images already in the poster). o Edit>Stroke and choose an appropriate width in pixels. Place another stroke around the entire poster. If you make a 12x18 poster and print it on 13x19 paper, this will enhance the appearance. Keep all the images used in a poster in the same folder. This makes it easy to go back and tweak and individual image if needed. If making a poster with multiple images, try varying the size and orientation (horizontal and vertical). Create an entirely new composition from your images. Turn on the Grids to help with alignment. View>Show>Grid (PS) or View>Grid (Elements). You can also choose the Snap To Grid option. o Note: change grid parameters in Preferences (Edit>Preferences) Use the Layer Comps palette in Photoshop CS to easily view design variations in a poster. (see Photoshop Help file) If you plan to make many posters, flyers, etc., it may be helpful to buy a book on design.
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How to Create Posters in Photoshop

Reference Credit Jsome1, If you've ever wondered how artistic posters are created in Photoshop, then this is the tutorial for you. Photoshop is a versatile program that allows you to create art from scratch. It's the industry standard in image editing and graphic design. Although it takes a while to learn everything you need to know about Photoshop, here are some tips to help you understand the basics of creating a poster from scratch.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

Photographs Adobe Photoshop

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Open Photoshop. Go to "File" and select "New" to create a new document. Name the file and select "A4" in the preset drop-down box. A4 is a common size for posters.
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Open up the images that you'll use for the poster. In this tutorial, we are using three images. Go to "File" and select "Open" or press "Ctrl + O" on your keyboard. Click and hold the "Ctrl" button to select multiple files to open at once. Go to "Window" on the menu bar and select "Arrange," then "Tile" to show all four files, including the new document just created in Step 1.
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Select the "Move" tool from the tool bar or press "M" on your keyboard. Drag the opened photos one by one into the new document. In the new document, each photo will be in its own layer.
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Close the three photos and return to the new poster document.
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Re-size the photos in the new poster document. Select the first photo layer. Go to "Edit" on the menu bar, and select "Transform," then "Scale." Holding the "Shift" key on your keyboard, re-size the photos as needed. Holding "Shift" allows the photos to maintain their ratio aspect.
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Edit photo to give an even, unified color. To do this, right click on the layer containing the photo in need of editing. In this tutorial, select "Blending Options" and then select "Color Overlay." Change the blend mode to "Saturation," the opacity to 87 percent and the color to #F7F3F9.
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Rename the background layer by double clicking on the name. Confirm the renaming to "Layer 0" when prompted. Renaming the background layer unlocks it and allows it to be edited.

Select the "Paint Bucket" on the tool bar, or press "G" on your keyboard. Fill Layer 0 with the color black by clicking on it with the paint bucket.
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Make Layers 0 and 1 invisible by clicking on each of their eye icons in the layer box. On the menu bar, select "Layer," then "Merge Visible" or press "Shift + Ctrl + E" on your keyboard. This will merge Layers 2 and 3 together. In the tutorial, Layer 0 is the background, Layer 1 is the train station, Layer 2 is the woman, and Layer 3 is the man.
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10 Create a layer mask on the newly merged image. Select the "Layer Mask" icon on the bottom of the layer box. 11 Select the "Gradient Fill" tool from the tool bar, or press "G" on your keyboard. Make sure the colors in fore/background boxes are black and white, respectively. Hold the shift button on your keyboard and draw a gradient from the center to the bottom of the merged image. (Ensure that the layer mask is selected, and not the merged image itself.) 12 Return to Layer 1 (the train layer) and repeat, this time drawing the gradient from the center up to the top of the image. 13 Create a new layer. Select the "Brush" tool, or "B" on your keyboard. Find the soft brush from the drop-down menu. Make sure the color is black. Begin to paint along the edges of the merged image, softening the sharp edges. This creates more of a vignette feeling. 14 Add text on a new layer using the "Text" tool, or "T" on your keyboard. Type out the text using Trajan Pro, 60 pt, and the color 4D181E. 15 Right click on the layer and select "Blending Options" then click "Bevel and Emboss." 16 Turn on the grid by going to "View "on the menu bar and selecting "Show," then "Grid," or press "Ctrl + [apostrophe key]" on your keyboard. Move the text and snap it on the grid. Add more text to populate the poster using the same font and varying sizes. 17 Save as a .pdf or .jpg file by going to "File" then "Save As..." Send to the printers.